Now, CPM says its not against the US or its people but against its policies
Kannur ( Kerala)
The Communist Party of India- Marxist ( CPI- M) is not against the US or its people but against its policies, the CPI- M lead
ership said on Wednesday, reports IANS. Party general secretary Pinarayi Vijayans statement to the effect follows CPI- M leader and former finance minister Thomas Isaacs admission on Tuesday that he met US officials in 2008. A diplomatic cable released on WikiLeaks showed that the party had sought US investment in Kerala when in power between 2006 and 2011.
” Yes, we did seek foreign investment, but it was not just a blanket permission to go for any sort of foreign investment,” Vijayan said.
” We were very clear that when we get funds, it should have no strings attached to it,” he said. ” We have always made it clear that we are not against the US or its companies; it is only their policies that we oppose.” The cable is believed to have been sent by a diplomat to the US state department in August 2008.
US officials met Vijayan, the then education minister M A Baby and the then chief minister V S Achuthanandan.
” The meeting with the US officials was at the AKG Centre ( state CPI- M party headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram) and it was just a courtesy visit,” Vijayan said.
He added that in the course of the meeting issues like the partys attitude to US companies such as Coco- Cola figured. ” I made it clear that the issue with Coco- Cola arose because the functioning of their plant in the state ( Palakkad) was leading to depletion of drinking water in the area,” he said. ” It was not against all US companies.”
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